I was inspired by a recipe found in Cook's Illustrated, and with a few revisions, made Chicken Kiev for the first time and LOVED it! It was so incredibly juicy inside and the homemade bread crumbs are the perfect touch. Chicken Kiev is made with breaded chicken cutlets that are stuffed with herbs and butter. The melted butter spreads across the plate and instantly forms a buttery sauce for this dish. Can you say...Delicious!

Chicken Kiev
Serves 4

Herb Butter

• 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted, sweet butter, softened
• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley and fresh tarragon, finely minced
• 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

Directions: Mix all ingredients, blending together. Place butter on a sheet of Saran wrap and form a 1" roll, wrap tight and place in refrigerator for 1 hour, or freezer for 15 minutes

Home Made Bread Crumbs

• 5 slices of peasant bread, or other white bread, lightly toasted
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

• Preheat over 300 degrees.
• Toast bread slices until lightly toasted
• Cut slices in 1/4 " cubes
• In batches of 3 or 4, place cubes in blender and pulse until coarsely ground.
• Place all bread crumbs on a baking sheet, add salt, pepper and olive oil
• Using hands, toss together, coating bread crumbs
• Adjust oven rack to middle position, bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes
• Remove from oven and set aside to cool - about 5 minutes
• You should have about 2 cups of breadcrumbs

Chicken

• 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and pounded to a 1/4 inch thickness (I ask my butcher to prep this for me)
• salt and pepper
• 2 cups of bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 - 1 cup all purpose flour (start with 1/2 cup and add more if needed)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Directions:

• Place thin chicken cutlets on a sheet of wax paper
• Season with salt and pepper to both sides of chicken
• Unwrap butter and slice into 1/2" rounds
• Place 1-2 rounds  of butter on the bottom half of each chicken breast
• Roll the bottom edge of the chicken over the butter, then continue to firmly roll to the top, pushing edges together to seal
• Repeat with all pieces of chicken
• Place on a plate and place uncovered in the refrigerator for 1 hour
• Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Place three bowls out and add flour with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in one; season bread crumbs with salt and pepper in another, and 3 eggs and mustard, whisked together  in the third.
• Dredge rolled chicken in flour, shaking off excess - coat with egg mixture, shake off excess, and roll in bread crumbs, thoroughly covering all sides of rolled chicken
• Place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Add chicken on top of the wire rack and place into oven, cooking for 45 minutes until chicken is golden brown.
• Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes and serve.

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If there's a time for wine then there's also a place. The most common situations where you will choose wine include personal use or a bottle for someone else. The perfect wine for the moment you get off work is different from the one you may choose for a special Seduction Meal, and once again different from what you might bring as a dinner guest. There are, of course, a few moments when wine is just not appropriate. Here is a cool infographic with a few tips from Wine Folly, an online resource that offers online wine courses, wine videos, and media that delivers the world of wine to the web. Thank you Wine Folly for allowing us to share this with our readers!

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A wonderful salad any time of year -- Quinoa with black beans, avocado, cilantro, sweet bell peppers, carrots and crispy tortilla strips served over a bed of arugula in a light dressing. This dish pairs well with summer burgers, grilled lamb chops, steak or grilled seafood. And of course, you can make this with our without the tortilla strips but they provide a nice flavor and texture. Serve with a chilled bottle of bear and enjoy!

 

Black Bean, Avocado, Quinoa Salad with Toasted Tortilla Strips

Ingredients:  


• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
• 1 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 small corn tortillas
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 avocado, cut in quarters and sliced
• 2 medium sized carrots, finely diced
• 1 orange or red pepper, diced
• 2 scallions, sliced in rings
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon country or dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups baby arugula

Directions

1. Heat vegetable oil in saucepan over medium heat. When hot add onion and garlic, saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix Quinoa into the saucepan and add vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes
3. While the Quinoa is cooking, toast the corn tortilla strips. Stack 2 tortillas on top of each other and slice into 1/4" wide strips. Spread strips on a non-stick baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until lightly brown and crisp for 4-5 minutes.
4. Dressing: Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, mustard and salt and pepper to taste, set aside
5. Place cooked Quinoa in a large bowl, add diced pepper, carrots, 1/2 cilantro, and black beans. Add 1/2 of the salad dressing  gently mixing together - set aside
6. In serving bowl place baby arugula, remaining salad dressing, salt and pepper to taste and mix together.
7. Place Quinoa salad over arugula, top with remaining cilantro and toasted tortilla strips.
   

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Every time a waiter walks by with a dish, conversations stop: the aroma, the presentation, the food.  I think I found my all time favorite breakfast spot to date while visiting my sister in Baltimore. This place ROCKS! Has anyone ever been to Miss Shirley's?  If you haven't...and you find yourself in Baltimore ...run don't walk. Be forewarned, there will always be a line, but when food is that good what else would you expect? The most daunting task you will encounter is deciding on what to order. The rest of your experience is all about the food - there really is something to be said of exceptional southern cooking!

Breakfast Cocktails
We arrived Sunday morning at 9:30 and had a 20 minute wait, while sipping outrageously delicious libations: I had Shirley's Crush - fresh-squeezed orange juice with the pulp, passion fruit vodka, triple sec, a splash of club soda, with a sugar rim garnished with a Strawberry and orange slice. Very refreshing. Everyone else had the Spicy Shirley, Shirley's version of a bloody Mary beautifully crafted with absolute Citron, a slice of green tomato, pickled okra, peppers, jalapenos, celery, Peppadew, lemon and lime with an Old Bay rim. You could say this is a meal in itself. If you really want to eat your drink - you can order 2 ounces of fresh lump crab garni ...eating crab in MD is like eating lobster in Maine- you just have to do it!

Appetizers
The appetizers where a true sign of how special our meal was going to be. They are listed on the menu under "Wake up your Taste Buds". You can say that again!  We had two orders of the Crab Cake Bites served with Old Bay Remoulade and an order of Chesapeake Deviled Eggs- four deviled egg halves with a dollop of Lump Crab Meat, Diced tomatoes, Chives and a sprinkle of Old Bay.  Highly recommended.


House Specialties: For our main course we had to go with the house specialties.

 I was going to get the Crab Cake & Fried Green Tomato Eggs Benedict: Poached eggs, mini jumbo lump crab cakes on top of fried green tomatoes, corn and tomato relish with asparagus & Old Bay Hollandaise sauce. But I just had to go with the Soft Shell "BLT" Benedict. Tough choices I know. Poached eggs, cornmeal-crusted soft shell crab, red and yellow tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, Applewood smoked bacon on sourdough rounds with Old Bay Hollandaise sauce and a drizzle of Old Bay Remoulade. Out of this world delicious!

Get your Grits On: Jumbo blackened shrimp on fried green tomatoes served with savory grits with bacon and herbed-Hollandaise sauce. Just divine! You can replace the shrimp with blackened salmon if you like.

Sunrise Benedict: Poached eggs and house-made slow roasted Carolina pulled pork on corn bread rounds with collard greens made with Tasso ham and Cajun Hollandaise sauce.

Cinnamon Roll French Toast: For the sweet tooth in every bunch this is to die-for. Dipped in almond-scented egg mix, dusted with cinnamon & powdered sugar & drizzled with cream cheese icing.

And this, my friends is just a sampling of the menu, it goes on and on and every dish is, dare I say it, orgasmic!

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